Hi everyone,
Next week, on Nov. 22nd, I will be away. You will have a substitute teacher named Mateen. He is a colleague of mine from U of T and is really great guy. I will be back the following week on Nov. 29th. Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Beat from “In My Place” by Coldplay and the shuffle beat that we worked on.
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping the heel of your right foot down while you practice. This will give you better control of the rhythm on the bass drum and will also give you more endurance because your leg won’t get tired as quickly. With the shuffle beat, practice improvising some drum fills using the triplet eighth notes as your base rhythm.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: The drum fills from “Can’t Stop” by the Chili Peppers.
How to practice it most effectively: Count the rhythm of each fill carefully before you practice it. With the fill in Chorus 2, be sure to plant the bass drum note on the “and of 3” which will help to set up the snare rhythm on beat 4. For the fill that leads into the last Chorus, make sure that you’re coming in right on beat 3, not before or after that, and make sure that you can play the rhythm accurately.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing the rhythm exercises around the drums (#1-4) and practice playing the coordination exercises with a slow and steady beat (#5-12)
How to practice it most effectively: When moving a rhythm around the drums, remember to always leads with your right hand. Since you’re moving toward the right, it will be easier to not cross your left hand over your right hand. With the coordination exercises, remember that the right hand plays the cymbal and the left hand plays the snare. Count out loud while you play and be sure to keep a steady speed.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Oscar
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The jazz rhythm exercises.
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping the ride and hi-hat parts steady while changing rhythms on the snare drum. Be sure that you can feel the difference between the notes that are at the end of a triplet and the ones that are in the middle of the triplet. Also, try to keep the snare fairly quiet while bringing out the sound of the ride and hi-hat.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Alexy
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: The simplified beat from “Ride” by 21 Pilots and the 12/8 beats.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the simplified version of the beat that we worked on. Try to nail down this part and practice it together with the song. Remember to keep the 16th notes steady just like we’ve practiced for the last couple of weeks. Also, take a look at the new 12/8 beats and work on playing some simple fills using eighth notes.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.